Eco-Friendly Computer Cleaning

I’ve really learned to love to clean things in an eco-friendly way. I use lemons for pretty much any surface. I can tell tales of how many things distilled white vinegar can clean. Though when it comes to my laptop computer, something I use everyday, I don’t clean it in a eco-friendly manor. Why?

I haven’t got a clue. I guess just because we are always told this is how to clean them, than that is the way to go. I mean I can’t imagine trying to clean my computer with a lemon, but I guarantee there is a solution out there. These are my thoughts as I researched this. I found some good ideas, some good products, and some good suggestions. Also, things I thought that were okay that simple were not.

You know the kind the doctor wipes on your arm before giving you a needle? I’ve seen plenty of colleagues use them to clean their keyboards. I even seen some use them to clean their screens. I learned THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. Some sites swear by it, but after doing some digging. The alcohol can eventually break down the letters on your keyboard. They may fade or completely disappear. As far as the screen goes, the alcohol can break down the coating on the screen. Also, this means stay away from Windex like products, and nail polish remover. You get the idea.

Instead, I found some natural spray cleaners for screens. I’m not endorsing any of these products; I’m just going to talk about a couple of alternate options for eco-friendly cleaning.

It’s a natural organic screen cleaner. It comes with it’s own micro-fiber cloth. It’s runs just under ten dollars. I ordered it to give it a try. For being eco-friendly, I thought it did just as good of a job as any of the major products out there that don’t boast about being natural.

It is non toxic, alcohol, and ammonia free. Complete with a antibacterial fiber cloth. It runs for just under fifteen dollars. I bought a bottle and tried it on my work computer. Once again, I can’t say it works any different than the major brands. It did exactly what it was supposed to do.

There are quite a few more eco-friendly screen sprays on the market, but at this point I already found what I was looking for. I had run my small experiment, and was happy with the results.

As far as a comparison between the two I tried. It’s kind of a wash. I liked them both for the same reasons. They both did their job, and were both eco-friendly. If I was forced to give an answer, I’d say EcoMoist, but that’s like comparing an apple to an apple.

Next up is the keyboard. I solved the screen problem, but the keyboard is just as important. Now, for those of you who have a touchscreen keyboard, then the above already solved that problem. I admit, it’s on purpose, I haven’t switched to touchscreen.just because I’m so used to using a keyboard. Though, this is coming from a person who has no problem using a touchscreen phone. Anyway, the keyboard can be wiped down with the screen cleaner, but in my opinion that’s like washing your hair with soap, when shampoo exists. The screen gets attention, why not it’s friend the keyboard?

My first thought was the duster. Obviously, the aerosol air duster we’ve used all these years to clear our keyboards of daily debris isn’t eco-friendly, just based on the aerosol alone. That’s not mentioning the countless other chemicals and gases in those products.

This thing looks pretty cool, however, I can’t give a review from using this product. The Hurricane costs between eighty to one hundred and fifty dollars. Thus, I would have loved to buy it and try it out, but just price wise I couldn’t. Now, with that said, if I owned an office building and this thing did what it says it does, then I’d have one on every floor. The way is works is like a reverse vacuum. It doesn’t have to be used just on keyboards. You can blow the dust off things in your home, or even inflate balloons with it. No chemicals. It’s all just the natural air you breathe. It runs on electricity, but I couldn’t tell if you charge it, or have to use it while plugged in, and I couldn’t find that information on the site. Good news is, there is an eco-friendly keyboard duster out there.

A general purpose cloth. Also eco-friendly. The company makes many e-cloths for different cleaning needs. I found the electronics version of the product on Amazon. I was able to purchase it for around seven dollars. It claims it will clean the debris off your electronics and give it a shine. It did what it said. My keyboard did look better. Cool thing is is that to clean the cloth all you need to do is toss it in the washing machine. Nice thing is it cleans the dust off the screen as well. I still think the sprays worked better on screens, but you can be the judge.

There were a ton of products I came across as I researched. There really is a demand out there for eco-friendly products like these. These were just a few examples. Look around and see what is your best fit.

The best part about all of this, for me, is I see other people have an environmentally friendly conscience like myself, and are creating new and inventive ways to keep the world we live in as clean as possible with more and more harsh things coming onto the market everyday!